SAW 3 – Harbourings

Tour Details.

Getting beyond the postcard view of the city and its two shimmering icons, ‘Harbourings’ reveals Sydney at her rawest and most spectacular, her most self–conscious and most corrupt!

Join us on this stroll around Sydney’s spectacular harbour edge, from Circular Quay, through the city’s great depository of memory – The Rocks – up Observatory Hill and on to Walsh Bay. The route is diverse, spectacular and full of surprising recent projects as well as gritty historical reminders of the cities industrial and maritime past.

Beginning with Circular Quay where the powerful forces of commerce are held back from the harbour by a bland concrete motorway, we will discuss Opera House architect Jørn Utzon’s driving ideas for Sydney as well as his vision for the Quay. We will wander discuss controversial additions to the Museum of Contemporary Art and you will discover Sydney’s brutalist masterpiece, the radical Sirius Apartment building by Tao Gofers while we unpack an upcoming scheme for redevelopment.

As we explore the area we will pluck out some surprising contemporary gems in The Rocks and Millers Point before descending on the breath-taking Walsh Bay Finger Wharves, a family of early 20th-Century industrial buildings that extend out into Sydney’s harbour. They are amongst the largest timber structures ever built, romantic symbols of Sydney’s industrial maritime history that have been reimagined as a cultural and residential precinct.

Meeting Point.

Customs House (forecourt). 31 Alfred St, Sydney – 1 minute walk from Circular Quay Station.

What Else.

• If you have a Gift Card, enter the code in the next window.
• Please bring your ticket for scanning either printed or on your phone.
• Please arrive at the meeting point 10 minutes prior to tour departure.
• We are COVID-Safe and follow all current NSW Government requirements.
• Tickets are transferrable and cancellable up to 72 hours before the event.
• Whatever happens in regards to weather – we walk – so dress for the weather! If for some reason the tour does not go ahead, you will receive a full refund. In this instance we would notify you at least 90 minutes prior to the tour by text message so a mobile number is requested in the next window.

Almost but not quite?

Does this tour almost meet your needs, but you would like to customise a few options?
Email us at [email protected]

SAW is a member of Guiding Architects, the international network for high-quality architecture tours.